We love and appreciate the time that guests take to thank us and share their memories through stories, photos and videos. One such story was shared by Kapama Karula guest Melanie Jones.  We trust you will enjoy it as much as we did.

We decided to go to a dam close by. As we haven’t had much rain, the bushveld is extremely dry. The elephants seemed to have moved in the direction of one of the few dams which still holds some water. We stopped at the dam…but nothing. Had we missed them again?

This is an exciting time of the year for us as the bush comes alive. Kapama Private Game Reserve is certainly a year-round destination, with winter offering terrific sightings of both animals and birds. However, summer brings in new and exciting aspects to a Safari.

I had been driving on a straight road when in the distance I spotted what looked like a thick branch lying in the middle of the road. I looked around, scanning the bush and terrain for other animals that would now be moving to find water. I looked back onto the road and this “branch” had somehow moved to the other side of the road.

Besides the Lion, the Leopard is the next biggest African cat, with an average mass of 60 to 70kg. The Leopard’s hunting technique is to either ambush or stalk its prey, in either instance it tries to get as close as possible to its target. It then makes a brief and explosive charge up to 60km/h, pouncing on the prey with a bite to the neck.

I got so excited and immediately nodded in agreement. I knew I had a kindred spirit on the game vehicle, and that our time together would be something special.